Pilocarpus spicatus A.St.-Hil. var. spicatus

  • Authority

    Kaastra, Roelof C. 1982. A monograph of the Pilocarpinae (Rutaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 33: 1-198. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Rutaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Pilocarpus spicatus A.St.-Hil. var. spicatus

  • Type

    Type. Saint-Hilaire 72B, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Nr. Rio de Janeiro, 1818, fl (lectotype, P (" pres Laranjeira" ); isolectotypes, P (" a la mont du Trapiceiro" ), P (locality not mentioned, with labels added later), F ex P (fragment)).

  • Synonyms

    Pilocarpus parviflorus Nees & Mart., Pilocarpus subcoriaceus Engl., Pilocarpus ypanemensis Engl., Pilocarpus spicatus var. subcoriaceus Engl. ex Duval

  • Description

    Variety Description - Vegetative parts glabrous, or branchlets, petioles, and (mainly) base and costa of the leaves pubescent with spreading hairs to 0.05(-0.1) mm. Racemes to 1 cm wide, glabrous or pubescent with spreading hairs to 0.1 mm. Pedicels 0-3 mm long and 0.5 mm thick, in fruit up to 4(-6) mm long. Flowers 5-merous, rarely some 4-merous, 4.5-6 mm in diam.; petals 2-3 × 1-1.9 mm; filaments truncate or obtusish at tip, 1.5-2.4 mm long; anthers recurved; disc 0.3-0.6 mm high and 1.4-1.8 mm in diam..

  • Discussion

    Pilocarpus subcoriaceus Engler cannot be maintained as a separate taxon. The differences described by Engler vary and occur also in many specimens certainly belonging to var. spicatus. The pedicels e.g., measure between 0 and 2 mm, and these sizes are not consistently correlated with other characters. The leaves of the syntypes of P. subcoriaceus are chartaceous or subcoriaceous, and subcoriaceous leaves were also found in plants belonging to var. spicatus with pedicels 1.5-2 mm long. The plants grow under the same conditions and in the same general region. Geiger (1897: 414) already suggested synonymy but in absence of ample material he did not combine them.

    The original syntypes of Pilocarpus ypanemensis Engler were destroyed in Berlin. Engler mentioned the two collections (Sellow 2174; 2178) in Fl. bras. 12(2) under P. spicatus. Duplicates of Sellow 2174 (PR, S, UC, all ex B) however, do not at all belong to Pilocarpus, nor to other Pilocarpinae. The duplicate in UC was misidentified by Engler as Esenbeckia riedeliana! In my opinion mistakes were made in B with these specimens. Sellow B 2178, c 2174 (S ex B) is now sterile but agrees in the vegetative parts with P. ypanemensis. Sellow 2178, fr (K ex B, 15 Nov 1907) agrees completely with the description of P. ypanemensis. This specimen I selected as lectotype; it was identified by Engler as P. spicatus. The description by Engler of P. ypanemensis, and the lectotype, agree fully with my concept of P. spicatus var. spicatus. Therefore I reduce P. ypanemensis to synonymy under this variety, as Geiger (1897: 414) suggested.

    Allemão 275, from Ceará, has large leaves with petioles to 5 cm long; this is the northernmost collection that is known.

  • Common Names

    jaborandi-miúdo-da-restinga

  • Distribution

    Brazil, Ceará, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and mainly in Rio de Janeiro. Forests, occasionally also restinga forest but usually low hills to 360 m (1 record). Flowering Apr-Aug(-Sep). Fig. 43C.

    Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America|